This invention relates to sheet plastic devices for creating packages of a plurality of containers. More particularly, the invention relates to a flat sheet-like thermoplastic device for creating a highly unitized and stable package for bottle-like containers.
Integral sheet-like devices for multi-packaging can-like containers are widely accepted, and have been found to be an efficient and very effective means for handling such containers. However, the multi-packaging of bottle-like containers creates problems which have not been so effectively solved.
A variety of different packaging techniques have heretofore been utilized in an attempt to multi-package bottle-like containers, which are generally defined as including a cylindrical body portion, reduced neck portion, and shoulder portion interconnecting the body and the neck. For example, complete wrap-around paperboard is a typical manner of creating such a multi-package. The large amount of material used and susceptibility of this package to moisture indicates that better approaches should be available.
Various types and combinations of carriers and package making devices which involve integrating an array of containers by a top-gripping device as generally typified in U.S. Pat. No. 3,876,066 are known in the prior art. Such top-gripping devices permit the body portions of the bottle to move relative to one another, which, in the case of glass bottles, could be dangerous, and in general, create an unstable package.
There are also various combinations of top grip and array confining bands, as typified, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,653,504. While such a package may create a substantially unitized array, the assembly techniques and difficulties of removal of the bottles from the package are deficiencies in this type of package.
A single element device formed as an inverted tray-like member with apertures in the flat base portion and downwardly depending skirt walls, as typified in U.S. Pat. No. 4,139,094, are available, but bottles are relatively difficult to remove from such a package, and, furthermore, the thermoforming operation is a relatively complex precedure.
With the above as background of the milti-packaging design concepts available for bottles, the advantages and objects of this invention will be listed.
It is a primary object of this invention to provide a multi-package for bottles which is highly unitized and minimizes the relative movement of each bottle in the array to one another.
Another object of the invention is to provide a planar, sheet-like thermoplastic device which not only integrates an array into a package, but is designed to resiliently engage the neck and/or shoulder portions of each body to unitize the array.
A further object of the invention is to provide a planar, sheet-like packaging device which is relatively easy to apply to an array of containers, and is designed so that each container can be readily removed from the array.
A further object of the invention is to provide a novel manner of creating a multi-package from a sheet-like device which transforms such a device into a highly stressed thermoplastic unitizing member.
The carrier device and multi-package described here herein is typified by a plurality of pairs of slit means created in the sheet-like thermoplastic member. The plurality of pairs of slits are designed to intersect in such a manner as to create a very restricted opening in the sheet when the sheet is in an unstressed position. The intersections of the slits are further arranged to be aligned with the longitudinal axis of bottles when the bottles are arranged in a closely contacting array. Furthermore, the restricted opening created by the slits is significantly less than the diameter of the neck of each bottle so that as the neck of the bottle is forced through the slits, the regions of the sheet adjacent the slits are stressingly deformed upwardly, out of the plane of the sheet. The sheet, being of a relatively stiff thermoplastic material, is furthermore designed so that the remaining portions of the sheet, that are not deformed upwardly, are stressingly deformed downwardly to attempt to follow the plane or repositionment of the regions of the sheet adjacent to slits. This stressing deformation thus creates a pair of opposing end panels which are deformed downwardly, a pair of opposing side panels which are also deformed downwardly, and central panel portions which are deformed in a U-shaped manner between rows of containers.
The resulting package created by the sheet member thus is a highly unitized package as a result of the stress in the device and the closely conforming contact between the device and the bottles.
Primary embodiment and alternate embodiments of the invention show a variety of weakening means in the panels designed for selective removal of each bottle from the array.